JP4679297B2 - Sheet cutting apparatus, sheet processing apparatus, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet cutting apparatus, a sheet processing apparatus, and an image forming apparatus for cutting a sheet bundle to be cut by a cutting unit, and particularly to a configuration for improving productivity.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, some image forming apparatuses such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, and a composite machine that form an image on a sheet include a sheet processing apparatus that processes a sheet on which an image is formed by an image forming unit. As such a sheet processing apparatus, there is an apparatus including a sheet cutting apparatus that cuts a sheet, a sheet bundle or the like (hereinafter referred to as a cut sheet bundle) with a cutting blade which is an example of a cutting unit.

  Then, such a sheet processing apparatus forms a bundle of sheets discharged from the apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus, and then performs gluing bookbinding or saddle stitching and folding, and aligns the end surfaces of the bookbinding. Thus, the end portions of the sheet bundle were cut to align the end surfaces (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Note that the sheet cutting apparatus may cause the sheet cutting apparatus to cut not only the sheet bundle but also one sheet.

JP 2003-292230 A

  By the way, in such a conventional sheet cutting apparatus, when a cut sheet bundle is cut, the cut sheet bundle is first pressed and fixed by the sheet pressing means, and then the cut sheet bundle is cut by the cutting means. However, when the cut sheet bundle is pressed in this way, the sheet pressing unit starts the operation from the same standby position regardless of the number and thickness of the cut sheet bundle.

  For this reason, depending on the thickness and number of sheets to be cut, particularly when the sheet bundle to be cut is thin, the pressing means comes into contact with the sheet to be cut after the sheet pressing means starts operating, Unnecessary travel time was spent before starting the cutting process. As a result, even when the cut sheet bundle is thin, a processing time equivalent to that when the cut sheet bundle is thick is required, and there is a problem that productivity is low.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of such a current situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet cutting device, a sheet processing device, and an image forming device capable of improving productivity.

The present invention fixes the sheet bundle to be cut, the sheet cutting apparatus for cutting a cutting means to be cut sheet bundle said fixed between a standby position that does not hold the sheet bundle to be cut, a fixed pressing the sheet bundle to be cut A sheet pressing means movable between a pressing position to be moved, a moving means for moving the sheet pressing means, a sheet thickness detecting means for detecting the thickness of a sheet bundle to be cut , and a sheet thickness detecting means A control unit that controls the movement start timing of the sheet pressing unit by the moving unit based on a detection result; and a sheet conveying unit that conveys the cut sheet bundle to a position where the sheet pressing unit can be pressed by the sheet pressing unit. serial control means, before reaching the position where sheet bundle to be cut is pressed by the sheet pressing means by the sheet conveying means, the standby position The movement of the sheet pressing means to the pressing position is started by the moving means, and the movement of the cut sheet bundle is reached after reaching the position where the cut sheet bundle is pressed, and the sheet pressing means presses the cut sheet bundle. And the control means moves the sheet pressing means without stopping when moving the sheet pressing means from the standby position to the pressing position by the moving means, Based on the information detected by the sheet thickness detecting means, the control means is configured such that when the cut sheet bundle is thin, the sheet pressing means by the moving means is greater than when the cut sheet bundle is thick. This is characterized in that the start timing of the movement is advanced .

  As in the present invention, before the cut sheet bundle pressing operation by the sheet pressing unit, the interval between the standby position and the pressing position is narrowed in advance based on the thickness information of the cut sheet bundle detected by the thickness detecting unit. By controlling so, productivity can be improved.

An example of a sheet cutting apparatus according to the best mode for carrying out the present invention, a sheet processing apparatus equipped with the sheet cutting apparatus, and an image forming apparatus provided with the sheet processing apparatus as one of the components in the apparatus main body The copying machine will be described with reference to the drawings. The numerical values taken up in the present embodiment and reference examples are reference numerical values and do not limit the present invention.

  Examples of the image forming apparatus include a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, and a multifunction machine of these, and the image forming apparatus is not limited to the copying machine. Further, the sheet processing apparatus is not provided only in the apparatus main body of the copying machine, but may be provided in an apparatus main body such as a printer, a facsimile machine, and a multifunction peripheral.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a copying machine which is an example of an image forming apparatus provided with a sheet processing apparatus having a sheet cutting apparatus according to a reference example of the present invention in the apparatus main body. A and a sheet processing apparatus B having a trimmer unit D. The apparatus main body A and the sheet processing apparatus B can also be used independently.

  In FIG. 1, the sheet processing apparatus B is provided as one of the constituent elements of the copying machine G on the side of the apparatus body A of the copying machine G, but may be incorporated in the apparatus body A. Further, the apparatus main body A of the copying machine G is provided with a control unit 9 for controlling the apparatus main body A, and the sheet processing apparatus B transmits and receives data, control signals and the like with the control unit 9 of the apparatus main body A. A central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as CPU) 200 for controlling the sheet processing apparatus is provided. The control unit 9 and the CPU 200 are integrated, and the integrated control unit is provided in one of the apparatus main body A and the sheet processing apparatus B to control the apparatus main body A and the sheet processing apparatus B. Also good.

In addition, the sheet processing apparatus B of this reference example forms a bundle of sheets and then glues the sheet bundle after binding the sheet as described later. May be. Further, staple binding may be performed by providing a stapler.

The trimmer unit D of this reference example cuts the sheet bundle that has been glued and bound, but may cut a sheet bundle that has been saddle-stitched and folded, or a sheet bundle that has not been bound. Furthermore, the trimmer unit D of the present reference example can cut not only a sheet bundle but also a single sheet. That is, the trimmer unit D of the present reference example is capable of cutting sheets to be cut such as sheets and sheet bundles. Hereinafter, a case of cutting a sheet bundle will be described.

  Here, the apparatus main body A of the copying machine G optically reads the original automatically fed from the original feeding apparatus 1 mounted on the upper part of the main body by the scanner unit 2 and uses the information as a digital signal to form image forming means. For example, it is transmitted to the image forming unit 3 and recorded on a sheet such as plain paper or an OHP sheet.

  In addition, a plurality of sheet cassettes 4 storing sheets of various sizes are provided in the lower part of the apparatus main body A of the copying machine G so that they can be drawn out (only one is shown in FIG. 1). The sheet conveyed from the sheet cassette 4 by the conveying roller 5 is recorded on the image forming unit 3 by the electrophotographic method.

  In the apparatus main body A of the copying machine G configured as described above, when an image is formed on a sheet, the photosensitive drum 3b is first irradiated with laser light from the light irradiation unit 3a based on information read by the scanner unit 2. Then, a latent image is formed, and this is developed with toner and transferred to a sheet. Thereafter, the sheet on which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing unit 6 and heated and pressurized to permanently fix the toner image on the sheet.

  After the image is formed on the sheet in this way, the apparatus main body A sends the sheet as it is to the sheet processing apparatus B in the single-side recording mode in which the toner image is formed on one side of the sheet. In the double-sided recording mode in which the toner image is formed on both sides of the sheet, the sheet on which the image is recorded on one side is switched back and turned upside down, then conveyed to the retransmission path 7, and again conveyed to the image forming unit 3. After the image is formed on the other surface, the image is sent to the sheet processing apparatus B.

  Here, the control unit 9 of the apparatus main body A sends a signal such as a sheet size to the CPU 200 of the sheet processing apparatus B before sending the sheet to the sheet processing apparatus B, and the path of the path in the sheet processing apparatus B is sent to the sheet processing apparatus B. Make switching and so on in advance. The sheet can be fed not only from the sheet cassette 4 but also manually from the multi-tray 8.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the sheet processing apparatus B includes a conveyance alignment unit C and a trimmer unit D, and can selectively perform glued bookbinding and cutting in addition to the normal discharge mode. Three sides other than the glued side of the sheet bundle can be cut. Note that the sheet processing apparatus B does not necessarily require the conveyance alignment unit C and may only cut the sheet bundle. Further, the trimmer unit D does not necessarily need to cut the three sides of the sheet bundle, and may cut only one side.

  Then, the sheet discharged from the apparatus main body A of the copying machine G to the sheet processing apparatus B is conveyed to the conveying roller pair 10a to 10d and discharged to the stack tray 11 in the normal mode. Further, in the glue binding mode, the sheet is discharged to the stacking tray E after being subjected to predetermined processing described later.

  In FIG. 2, 15 is a non-sort path, 16a is a bookbinding path, and 12 is a first flapper that switches between the non-sort path 15 and the bookbinding path 16a. Reference numeral 14 denotes a bookbinding middle paper path through which the content sheet to be bound passes, and 13 denotes a second flapper for switching between the bookbinding middle paper path 14 and the cover path 16 through which the cover passes.

  Reference numeral 35 denotes an alignment vertical path that constitutes a storage unit that sequentially stores the sheets fed in the bookbinding intermediate paper path 14 in an upright state. As shown, the trailing edge stopper 20 which is an alignment member provided at the bottom of the alignment vertical path 35 and the sheet P which is provided on one surface of the alignment vertical path 35 and discharged to the alignment vertical path 35 are on the trailing edge stopper side. The half-moon roller 19 that is a pressing unit that presses the trailing edge of the sheet P against the trailing edge stopper 20 is aligned with the width direction that is a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction by pressing the sheet P toward the sheet center. An alignment plate 21 and an alignment vertical path plate 36 are provided.

  Here, the alignment vertical path plate 36 is provided on the side of the alignment vertical path 35 facing the half-moon roller 19, holds the sheet P discharged to the alignment vertical path 35 in an upright state, and also applies a half moon to the discharged sheet. This is to keep the contact pressure of the roller 19 substantially constant.

  When the bookbinding mode is selected in the sheet processing apparatus B having the alignment vertical path 35 having such a configuration, the sheet P discharged from the apparatus main body A is first shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The flapper 12 and the second flapper 13 are switched and fed to the bookbinding intermediate paper path 14 by the conveying roller pairs 10a, 17a, and 17b, and further discharged to the alignment vertical path 35 by the discharge roller pair 18.

  Next, the sheet P discharged to the alignment vertical path 35 in this way is returned to a position where the rear end abuts against the rear end stopper 20 by the half-moon roller 19 and the discharge roller pair 18 and aligned in the sheet conveying direction (rear end). Alignment) is performed, and the sheet is pushed in the direction of the sheet center by, for example, an alignment plate 21 serving as an alignment unit, and alignment in a direction crossing the sheet conveyance direction is performed. In other words, the sheet P is pushed in the center direction in the width direction of the sheet (direction intersecting the sheet conveyance direction), and the side edges of the sheets are aligned.

  When the trailing edge of the sheet P passes through the discharge roller pair 18, the rotation speed of the discharge roller pair 18 is controlled to be low. Thus, the sheet P discharged to the alignment vertical path 35 is reliably drawn into the alignment vertical path 35 by the rotation of the half-moon roller 19 so that the trailing edge alignment is performed reliably.

  When a predetermined time has passed after the trailing edge of the sheet P passes the discharge sensor 22, or when the rotation speed of the motor reaches a predetermined rotation speed, it is considered that the sheet has passed the discharge roller pair 18. Yes.

  By the way, as shown in FIG. 3, the meniscus roller 19 that pulls the sheet P discharged onto the alignment vertical path 35 in the direction opposite to the discharge direction is formed in a shape cut out in a half moon shape. The half-moon roller 19 normally has a cutout portion of the half-moon roller 19 on the alignment vertical path 35 side so that the discharge of the sheet P discharged from the discharge roller pair 18 is not hindered.

  Further, every time one sheet P is discharged onto the alignment vertical path 35, the half-moon roller 19 rotates in a direction opposite to the sheet discharge direction of the discharge roller pair 18, and the sheet P on the alignment vertical path 35 is rotated. The sheet P is pulled back by the frictional force generated between the sheet P and the rear end portion. That is, the half-moon roller 19 pulls back the sheet P in the direction in which the sheet P falls.

  The operation timing of the half-moon roller 19 is after the discharge roller pair 18 releases the trailing edge of the sheet P. Specifically, the half-moon roller 19 rotates in the direction opposite to the sheet discharge direction after a lapse of a certain time after the trailing end of the sheet P passes the discharge sensor 22 provided on the upstream side of the discharge roller pair 18. It has become.

  Further, the alignment vertical path plate 36 can be moved in the direction of the arrow a shown in FIG. 3 by an alignment vertical path motor (not shown), and the path interval of the alignment vertical path 35 is adjusted. This alignment vertical path plate 36 maintains the contact pressure with respect to the uppermost sheet discharged by the half-moon roller 19 on the alignment vertical path 35 so that the number of sheets discharged on the alignment vertical path 35 is the same. Accordingly, the alignment vertical path plate 36 is moved in the direction in which the path spreads.

  For example, when the number of sheets P accommodated in the alignment vertical path 35 is small, the occurrence of buckling of the sheet P is prevented by moving the alignment vertical path plate 36 in the direction in which the interval between the alignment vertical paths 35 is narrowed. In addition, the contact pressure of the half-moon roller 19 with respect to the sheet P discharged to the alignment vertical path 35 is kept substantially constant, so that a return failure can be prevented.

  Further, as the number of stored sheets increases, the sheet P can be reliably returned even when the thickness of the sheet bundle is increased by moving the alignment vertical path plate 36 in the direction in which the interval between the alignment vertical paths 35 increases. Return failure can be prevented.

  The alignment vertical path plate 36 can be reciprocated in the direction of the arrow by a rack (not shown) formed on a part of the alignment vertical path plate 36 and an alignment vertical path motor. The interval (interval of the alignment vertical path 35) can be adjusted.

  By the way, when the sheets P are sequentially conveyed to the alignment vertical path 35, the sheets P are pulled back by the half moon roller 19 and stacked in the alignment vertical path 35 until a predetermined target number of bundles are obtained. In the process of stacking and aligning the sheets P on the alignment vertical path 35 for bookbinding creation and then performing operations such as gluing, the bundle of sheets P continues to exist in the alignment vertical path 35.

  For this reason, the succeeding sheet P for making the second bookbinding cannot be conveyed from the apparatus main body A, and the work such as gluing of the first book ends, and the sheet bundle P1 is discharged from the alignment vertical path 35. Until this is done, the conveyance of the sheet P is stopped, leading to a decrease in productivity.

Therefore, in this reference example , the first sheet bundle P1 is finished from the pasting operation and the like and is discharged from the alignment vertical path 35, so that the second bookbinding is created from the apparatus main body A. A buffer mechanism 50 is provided in the vicinity of the alignment vertical path 35 for temporarily waiting for the succeeding sheet P that has been carried in.

  Here, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the buffer mechanism 50 includes a receiving table 50a for holding the sheet P, and the receiving table 50a by a motor (not shown) and electromagnetic clutch gears 50c and 50g. And a drive unit 50B that moves in the width direction that is orthogonal to (intersects with) the sheet conveyance direction. In FIG. 4, it is assumed that the discharge roller pair 18, the half moon roller 19, the rack 50e, and the photosensor 50f do not move.

  The drive unit 50B, when moving the cradle 50a in the same direction as, for example, the sheet conveying direction, sets only the electromagnetic clutch gear 50c to a rotational force transmission state so that the rotation of a motor (not shown) is transmitted to the gear 50d. To. As a result, the gear 50d rotates on the fixed rack 50e, and each part of the buffer mechanism 50 excluding the rack 50e moves integrally in the same direction as the sheet conveying direction.

  That is, the cradle 50a moves in the same direction as the sheet conveyance direction. At this time, detection of the movement position in the same direction as the sheet conveyance direction of the buffer mechanism 50 excluding the rack 50e is detected by the photosensor 50f and the protrusion 50k on the moving body 50n that shields the photosensor 50f. The movement control based on the set position is performed.

  Further, in order to move the cradle 50a in the width direction, only the electromagnetic clutch gear 50g is set in the rotational force transmission state so that the rotation of the motor is transmitted to the gear 50h, and the rack 50b is moved. As a result, the cradle 50a moves in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction.

  At this time, the moving position of the cradle 50a in the direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction by the photosensor 50i provided on the moving body 50n and the protrusion 50m protruding from one end of the rack 50b that shields the photosensor 50i. And movement control based on the detected position are performed. Since the receiving base 50a of the buffer mechanism 50 is retracted to the home position outside the width of the sheet P shown in FIG. 4 except when the sheet P is buffered, it does not hinder the conveyance of the sheet. It is like that.

  Next, the basic operation of such a buffer mechanism 50 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, when the sheet bundle P1 is stacked and aligned with the trailing end stopper 20 and is in the alignment vertical path 35 and is not discharged from the alignment vertical path 35, the buffer mechanism 50 In order to buffer the sheet P conveyed continuously from the main body A, the receiving table 50a receives the sheet P from the home position that does not prevent the conveyance of the sheet P by the rotation of the gear 50h and the rack 50b shown in FIG. Slide to position.

  On the other hand, when the sheet bundle P1 is discharged from the alignment vertical path 35 and the sheet bundle P1 disappears on the trailing edge stopper 20, the buffer mechanism 50 moves the receiving base 50a to the downstream end of the trailing edge stopper 20 in the sheet conveying direction. Move towards. Thus, the rear end of the buffered sheet P is supported by the rear end stopper 20, and when the rear end of the sheet P is thus supported, the movement of the cradle 50a is stopped and the cradle 50a is moved to the home. Retreat to position.

  Here, when the cradle 50a moves to the retracted position in this way, the sheet P moves into the alignment vertical path 35 by its own weight. Finally, the cradle 50a is returned in the direction opposite to the rear end stopper 20, moved to the first retracted position (home position), and the process ends. This operation is repeated until the target number of bookbinding copies is completed.

  Next, cover conveyance will be described.

  A sheet P (hereinafter referred to as a cover sheet) P <b> 2 discharged from the apparatus main body A is guided to the cover path 16 by the first flapper 12 and the second flapper 13. As shown in FIG. 2 (see FIG. 3), a registration roller pair 23 is disposed in the middle of the cover path 16, and a registration leading end sensor 23a is disposed upstream of the registration roller pair 23.

  Here, the registration roller pair 23 is stopped when the cover sheet P2 is guided to the cover path 16, but starts to rotate after a predetermined time after the front end of the cover sheet P2 contacts the registration roller pair 23. . Note that whether or not the front end of the cover sheet P2 has contacted the registration roller pair 23 is determined for a predetermined time after the cover sheet P2 passes the registration front end sensor 23a or by detecting the motor rotation speed. It has become.

  By controlling the registration roller pair 23 to be stopped in this way, a loop can be formed at the front end of the cover sheet P2 guided to the cover path 16 to correct the skew.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the registration roller pair 23 can be moved in the sheet width direction by a pinion gear (not shown) rotated by a cover motor 37 and a rack 38. The registration roller pair 23 moves in the direction of arrow b in FIG. 5 while the cover sheet P2 is nipped and conveyed after the rear end of the cover sheet P2 passes through the conveyance roller pair 17a. Further, by such movement, the cover sheet P2 shields the registration sensor 24, and then moves in the direction of the arrow c to release the light shielding of the registration sensor 24, and then moves and stops by a certain amount. Yes.

  Here, since the registration sensor 24 is disposed at the paper end position (side end position) of the sheet bundle P1 in the alignment vertical path 35, the registration sensor 24 and the alignment sheet in the alignment vertical path 35 are located in the cover path 16. The sheet bundle P1 is moved to a position shifted by a certain amount in the width direction of the sheet or sheet bundle. After this, the registration roller pair 23 receives a paper size signal from the apparatus main body A, stops the cover sheet P2 in the cover path 16 by conveying a specified amount according to the paper size.

  By the way, after moving the cover sheet P2 in this way, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the sheet bundle P1 stacked on the alignment vertical path 35 by the gripper 41 positioned below the alignment vertical path 35 is moved to the cover sheet side. Then, the rear end of the sheet bundle P1 is superimposed on the center portion of the cover sheet P2, and thereafter, the glue binding unit 25 performs the glue binding operation.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 7, the gluing unit 25 includes a gutter 25a, a gluing roller 25b, a gluing 25c, a gutter heater 25d, a shaft 25e, and a gutter driving means 25f. Note that the flange 25a is moved more than the sheet width by the flange drive unit 25f in the sheet width direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction along the axis 25e, and is located at two locations outside the sheet width (upper edge side in the figure). And the lower edge side) are in the retracted position.

  Further, as the collar 25a moves from the first retracted position to the second retracted position, a part of the link 26 engaged with the rear end stopper 20 is pushed by a part of the collar 25a, and the rear end stopper 20 is pushed. Is moved away from the lower part of the sheet bundle P1 in FIG. The glue roller 25b is attached to the collar 25a, and rotates with the movement of the collar 25a.

  Furthermore, the saddle heater 25d is attached to the outside of the saddle 25a. The scissors heater 25d heats the scissors 25a and melts the glue 25c in the scissors 25a at the start of the bookbinding mode. The glue roller 25b is rotated by the movement of the collar 25a by the collar drive unit 25f, and the glue 25c melted over the entire outer peripheral surface of the glue roller 25b is spread.

  The sheet bundle P1 stacked in the alignment vertical path 35 is held by the gripper 41 (see FIG. 3), and the flange 25a moves from the first retracted position to the second retracted position, so that the trailing end stopper By retracting 20 from the lower part of the sheet bundle P1, glue 25c is applied to the lower end surface of the sheet bundle P1 by the glue unit 25.

  Next, the bookbinding process will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 6, reference numeral 27 denotes a shutter. The shutter 27 is positioned downstream of the cover path 16 as shown in FIG. Then, the bookbinding process is started, and as shown in FIG. 6A, when the cover sheet P2 is being conveyed, the cover attaching path 42 is closed.

  Further, during the bookbinding process, as shown in FIG. 6B, the shutter motor 28 drives the shutter rack 29, and the shutter 27 and the spring 30 that pulls the shutter rack 29 in one direction are connected to the cover attachment path. 42 is moved to the opening position. In addition, after opening the cover attachment path 42, the shutter 27 comes into contact with a stopper (not shown) and stops.

  The sheet bundle P1 held by the gripper 41 is applied with glue 25c by the gluing unit 25 shown in FIG. Thereafter, the gripper 41 moves the glued sheet bundle P1 so as to come into pressure contact with the cover sheet P2 on the crease table 34, thereby bringing the sheet bundle P1 into pressure contact with the cover sheet P2.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6C, when the shutter motor 28 is further driven, the cam 32 rotated by the belt 31 from the shutter motor 28 further rotates, and the creasing bases 34 and 34 are driven by the guide shaft 33. Move them closer together. The crease table 34 performs crease for a certain time. Thereby, the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is completed.

  The crease table 34 is provided with a relief mechanism so as to cope with a change in the paper thickness. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6 (d), the crease bases 34 and 34 are retracted away from each other by continuing to rotate the cam 32. As a result, the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is pushed downstream by the push rollers 39, conveyed to the bundle curvature path 40 (see FIG. 2), and conveyed to the rotary stage via the bundle curvature path 40.

  Here, the rotary stage 60 rotates the bound bookbinding sheet bundle P3 and conveys it into the trimmer unit D. Next, the rotary stage 60 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 8, reference numeral 61 denotes a swing unit provided on the rotary stage 60. As shown in FIG. 8A, the swing unit 61 is rotated by a swing lift gear 62b. The rotation shaft 63 is transmitted by a swing drive belt (not shown) which is transmitted to the swing drive gear (not shown) via the swing lifting belt 62c and is further spanned between the rotation shaft 63 and the link shaft 64. Is transmitted to a link mechanism (not shown) around the center of rotation so that the right end side of FIG.

  The rise of the swing unit 61 is detected by the swing rise detection sensor 66a detecting the protrusion 65 of the swing unit 61. The CPU 200 stops the swing motor 62a when it receives a signal from the swing rise detection sensor 66a to detect the protrusion 65, whereby the swing unit 61 is moved to (a) of FIG. Wait at the indicated position.

  An inlet guide 67 for receiving the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is disposed above the swing unit 61. The inlet guide 67 includes an inlet driven roller 69a and a bookbinding sheet bundle P3 by an inlet guide motor 68a. It is designed to move in the thickness direction. Here, the inlet guide motor 68a is started under the control of the CPU 200, rotates the inlet guide gear 68b, and moves the inlet rack 68c connected to the inlet guide 67, thereby moving the inlet guide 67 into the bookbinding sheet bundle P3. It is designed to move in the receiving direction.

  The inlet guide motor 68a continues to rotate after moving the inlet guide 67. When the inlet guide opening / closing sensor 68d detects the inlet rack 68c, the inlet guide motor 68a stops rotating under the control of the CPU 200. Stop moving. Then, the entrance guide 67 stands by in this state.

  On the other hand, when the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 bound in the bookbinding process is sent from the conveyance alignment unit C to the entrance guide 67 and detected by the entrance sensor 68e, the CPU 200 detects the entrance based on the detection signal of the entrance sensor 68e. The guide motor 68a is rotated to bring the inlet guide 67 closer to the bookbinding sheet bundle P3, the inlet driven roller 69a is pressed against the bookbinding sheet bundle P3, and the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is held together with the bundle conveying roller 69b. Thereafter, when the bundle conveying roller 69b rotates in the arrow direction shown in FIG. 8A, the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is sent to the rotary stage 60.

  The bundle conveying roller 69b stops the conveyance of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 while holding the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 together with the inlet driven roller 69a of the inlet guide 67 after conveying the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 by a certain amount.

  By the way, the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 thus fed to the rotary stage 60 by the bundle carrying roller 69b is sandwiched by the gripper unit 70 and conveyed to the paper discharge belt 71. Note that the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 reliably reaches the paper discharge belt 71 by sandwiching and transporting the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 in this way.

  Here, the gripper unit 70 is provided on a support plate 141 shown in FIG. 9, and the support plate 141 is provided on a pair of belts 144 spanned over a pair of pulleys 142 and 143. . The pulley 142 is rotated by a horizontal movement motor 79, whereby the gripper unit 70 is moved in the left-right direction in FIGS.

  Further, the gripper unit 70 has a holding piece 145 for holding the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 with the rotation guide gear 78 as shown in FIG. The clamping piece 145 is biased toward the rotation guide gear 78 by the spring 146 and is separated from the rotation guide gear 78 against the spring 146 by the rotation of the clamping release motor 147.

  Then, the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 conveyed to the sheet discharge belt 71 by the gripper unit 70 having such a configuration is then moved to the bookbinding sheet bundle in the direction of approaching and separating by the motor (not shown). 8 is pressed in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 8B, and is also pressed by the air vent unit 73 that can move toward and away from the bookbinding sheet bundle by the motor of the face pressing unit 72.

  Next, after the surface pressing operation and the air venting operation of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 are performed on the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 in this way, the CPU 200 (see FIG. 13) performs the binding of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 by the gripper unit 70. The nipping is released, the discharge belt 71 is circulated by the motor (not shown) in the direction of the arrow in FIG. Thus, a resist removing operation 74 for the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is performed. That is, the skew of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is corrected straightly.

  At the same time, when the paper discharge sensor 75 detects the glued end portion P3a of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3, the CPU 200 circulates the paper discharge belt 71 for a predetermined time based on the detection signal, and then stops the circulation. After that, the CPU 200 moves the gripper unit 70 to the rotation center position of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 and stops it, and causes the gripper unit 70 to sandwich the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 again.

  Then, after the gripper unit 70 holds the bookbinding sheet bundle P3, the swing motor 62a shown in FIG. 8A is started, and the rotational force of the swing motor 62a swings up and down from the swing lift gear 62b. It is transmitted to a swing drive stage gear (not shown) via the belt 62c. Further, as shown in FIG. 8C, the rotation shaft 63 is transmitted to a link mechanism (not shown) around the rotation shaft 63 by a swing drive belt (not shown) spanned between the rotation shaft 63 and the link shaft 64. Thus, the right end side of the swing unit 61 is lowered.

  The lowering of the swing unit 61 is detected by the horizontal sensor 66b detecting the protrusion 65 of the swing unit 61. When the CPU 200 receives a signal from the horizontal sensor 66b that detects the protrusion 65, the swing unit 61 swings. The dynamic motor 62a is stopped. Thereby, the swing unit 61 stands by at a position shown in FIG.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8C, the gripper unit 70 sandwiches the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 and moves in the direction of the arrow by the horizontal movement motor 79 (see FIG. 9), whereby the bookbinding sheet bundle P3. Is transported to a predetermined position in the trimmer unit D and cut. At this time, the end where the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is cut is an end parallel to the gluing end P3a.

  Next, after the bookbinding sheet bundle P is cut by the trimmer unit D in this way, the gripper unit 70 is integrated with the support plate 141 shown in FIG. 9 at a predetermined rotational position while holding the bookbinding sheet bundle P3. Move up. The gripper unit 70 that has reached this rotational position receives the rotational force of the rotary motor 76 shown in FIG. 8C via the rotary gear 77 and the rotary guide gear 78, and together with the support plate 141, the arrow in FIG. The bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is rotated 90 degrees in the direction.

  Next, the gripper unit 70 that has rotated the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 by 90 degrees once removes the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 from the trimmer unit D in order to grasp the relationship between the position where the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is sandwiched and the next cutting position. The edge of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is detected by the paper discharge sensor 75.

  When the paper discharge sensor 75 detects the end of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3, the gripper unit 70 again conveys the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 into the trimmer unit D, and the trimmer unit D has been conveyed again. The edge part of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is cut. At this time, the end portion cut by the trimmer unit is an end portion perpendicular to the gluing step portion P3a.

  After completion of the cutting, the gripper unit 70 again conveys the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 to a predetermined rotation position, and in the same rotation direction as the above-described rotation operation, this time the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is rotated 180 degrees. Rotate. Since the gripper unit 70 grasps the positional relationship between the holding position of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 and the end of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 in the pre-cutting, the paper discharge sensor 75 detects the end of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3. The bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is rotated 180 degrees without causing it to be conveyed again to the cutting position.

  Then, the trimmer unit D cuts the end portion of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 that has been conveyed again. At this time, the edge part which a trimmer unit cuts is a remaining right-angled edge part with respect to the gluing step part P3a.

  Thereafter, the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 cut in the three directions in this way is rotated by 90 degrees again by the gripper unit 70 by the same operation, and the glued end portion P3a of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is discharged by the paper discharge sensor 75. Is conveyed to the position detected by.

  When the glued end P3a of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is detected by the paper discharge sensor 75, the gripper unit 70 releases the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 and the surface pressing unit 72 presses the bookbinding sheet bundle P3. Thereafter, the discharge belt 71 circulates in the direction opposite to the clockwise direction in FIG. 8 and discharges the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 to the stacking tray E.

  Next, the trimmer unit D will be described.

  The trimmer unit D cuts the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 conveyed from the rotary stage 60. The rotary stage 60 is an example of a sheet conveying unit that conveys the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 to a position where it is pressed by a sheet presser 93 described later. The configuration including the rotary stage 60 and the trimmer unit D is an example of a sheet cutting device.

  FIG. 10 is a side view of such a trimmer unit D, and includes, for example, a cutting blade 80 which is a tool with a blade for cutting the bookbinding sheet bundle P3. Here, the cutting blade 80 as an example of the cutting means is formed in a plate shape, and is inclined only on one side. Further, the length in the longitudinal direction of the plate-shaped cutting blade 80 is longer than the maximum sheet size to be cut, and further moves in the longitudinal direction, so that it always has a length to ride on the bookbinding sheet bundle P3.

  The cutting blade 80 is fixed to the longitudinal movement member 81. The longitudinal movement member 81 is supported by rollers 82a and 82b provided on the vertical movement member 82, and abutment 81a formed on the rollers 82a and 82b and the longitudinal movement member 81 itself. , 81b move in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the longitudinal movement member 81 itself, that is, with respect to the cut surface of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3.

  Further, the longitudinal translation of the longitudinal movement member 81 is such that when the horizontal motor 83 rotates, the rotation cam 84 rotates, and a long hole formed in the protrusion 84a of the rotation cam 84 and the longitudinal movement member 81 itself. The rotation movement of the horizontal motor 83 is converted into a linear reciprocating movement by the engagement with the rotation receiver 89. The speed adjustment of the reciprocating motion can be freely performed by providing the horizontal motor 83 with an encoder.

  On the other hand, the movement of the cutting blade 80 in the thickness direction of the bookbinding sheet bundle P <b> 3 is performed by the vertical movement member 82. Here, the vertical direction moving member 82 is guided by the guide shaft 131 protruding from the vertical direction moving member 82 and the guide groove 135 formed in the column 134 provided on the base 132, and along the column 134. To move away from the bookbinding sheet bundle P3.

  Here, since the vertical direction moving member 82 includes rollers 82a and 82b supporting the longitudinal direction moving member 81, when the vertical direction moving member 82 moves vertically, the longitudinal direction moving member 81 also becomes vertical. Accordingly, the cutting blade 80 is also moved in the vertical direction. Further, the vertical moving member 82 is always pulled by the tension springs 87a and 87b in a direction approaching the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 in order to apply a load (cutting force) to the cutting blade 80.

  By the way, as shown in FIG. 11, the trimmer unit D cuts, for example, a mat 94 and a bookbinding sheet bundle P3 as a cut sheet bundle as a receiving means of the cutting blade 80 for the purpose of preventing the cutting blade 80 from being damaged. The sheet presser 93 is provided as an example of a sheet pressing means for pressing and fixing the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 to the mat 94 side.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 11A, when the sheet presser 93 is moved to a position near the lower fulcrum of the link 90 by the cam 91 and the link 90 that are rotated by the rotation of the vertical motor 88, the sheet presser 93 is moved to the bookbinding sheet bundle P3. The bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is pressed against the mat 94 by the further pressing force of the link 90 that contacts and resists the paper pressing spring 92.

  Here, while the link 90 moves to the lower fulcrum position in this way, the attachment member 136 of the link 90 is separated from the abutting piece 82c of the vertical direction moving member 82. Thus, as will be described later, when the cutting blade 80 is moved downward in the thickness direction of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 by the tension springs 87a and 87b via the vertical moving member 82, the cutting blade 80 is moved vertically until it comes into contact with the mounting member 136. The member 82 is lowered, and as a result, the cutting blade 80 comes into contact with the bookbinding sheet bundle P3.

  Note that the mechanism for operating the sheet presser 93 and the cutting blade 80 in this manner is as shown in FIG. 11B, in which the cam 91 rotates and the link 90 moves to the upper fulcrum position. When the pressing operation of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is released, the attachment member 136 of the link 90 abuts against the abutting piece 82c of the vertical movement member 82, and the cutting blade 80 is moved to the binding sheet bundle P3 via the vertical movement member 82. It also serves as a mechanism for moving upward in the thickness direction. By these mechanisms, the cutting blade 80 can reciprocate in the thickness direction of the bookbinding sheet bundle.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 10, a blade position sensor flag 86 is provided on the abutting piece 82c of the vertical direction moving member 82, and a blade position sensor 85 for detecting the blade position sensor flag 86 is provided on the support 134. It has been. The bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is cut by the cutting blade 80 until the blade position sensor 85 detects the blade position sensor flag 86.

Incidentally, the mat 94 provided in the lower portion of the bookbinding purposes sheet bundle P3 to prevent damage to the cutting knife 80 is, in the present embodiment is formed in a roller shape, so as to rotate in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 12 It has become. In FIG. 12, reference numeral 97 denotes, for example, a dust box as means for storing the cut sheet waste P4 after cutting provided below the mat 94.

  Then, by making the mat 94 into a roller shape in this way, the cut sheet waste P4 after cutting can be rotated and dropped onto the dust box 97. The mat 94 is preferably made of a soft material such as rubber, urethane, or mold in order to prevent the cutting blade 80 from being damaged.

  Next, the operation of the trimmer unit D will be described.

  First, when the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is conveyed from the rotary stage 60 by the above-described gripper unit 70 shown in FIG. 8, the trimmer unit D starts the vertical motor 88 shown in FIG. The cam 91 is rotated until it reaches the fulcrum position. Accordingly, the link 90 brings the sheet presser 93 into contact with the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 via the paper presser spring 92. Further, with the subsequent rotation of the cam 91, the paper presser spring 92 is compressed, whereby the sheet presser 93 presses the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 toward the mat 94 and presses and fixes the bookbinding sheet bundle P3. Move to position.

  At this time, when the link 90 is operated together with the sheet presser 93, the mounting member 136 moves away from the abutting piece 82c of the vertical moving member 82, so that the vertical moving member 82 is pulled by the tension springs 87a and 87b. It descends so as to follow the attachment member 136. Then, the cutting blade 80 is lowered by such a lowering of the attachment member 136, and the cutting blade 80 comes into contact with the bookbinding sheet bundle P3.

  Next, after the cutting blade 80 comes into contact with the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 in this way, the horizontal motor 83 shown in FIG. 10 is started, and the rotational movement of the horizontal motor 83 is caused by the rotary cam 84, the protrusion 84a, and the rotary receiver 89. Converted to reciprocating motion. As a result, the longitudinal movement member 81 reciprocates in the vertical direction integrally with the cutting blade 80 with respect to the thickness direction of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3. That is, the cutting blade 80 reciprocates in the left-right direction in FIG.

  Then, by performing such a reciprocating motion, the cutting of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is started. The cutting blade 80 is pulled by the tension springs 87a and 87b and moves in the thickness direction of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 while cutting the bookbinding sheet bundle P3. The bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is cut by the reciprocating motion of the cutting blade 80 until the blade position sensor flag 86 is detected by the blade position sensor 85.

  Next, after the cutting of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 by the reciprocating motion of the cutting blade 80 is completed, the vertical motor 88 is rotated again, and the cam 91 is rotated until the link 90 reaches the upper fulcrum position. The presser 93 is moved away from the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 and moved to the standby position shown in FIG. 11B, and the cutting blade 80 is moved away from the mat 94.

  The cut sheet waste P4 may fall into the dust box 97 as shown in FIG. 12, but may remain on the mat 94. Therefore, in the present embodiment, after the cutting blade 80 is separated from the mat 94, the mat 94 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 12 by the mat rotation motor 95a via the mat driving belt 95b.

  Then, by rotating the mat 94 in this manner, the cut sheet waste P4 does not remain on the mat 94 and falls into the dust box 97 before the pusher 96. Thereafter, the cut sheet waste P4 is moved to the pusher 96. Is pushed downstream in the dust box 97.

  Note that, after such a scrap disposal rotating operation of the mat 94, the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is rotated again by 90 degrees as described above, and the end portions of the three sides other than the gluing portion are cut. Finally, the bookbinding sheet bundle P <b> 3 whose end portions on the three sides are cut is discharged to the stacking tray E.

Figure 13 is a control block diagram of the sheet processing apparatus B having such a trimmer unit D, 13, on the input side of the control means e.g. CPU200 of this reference example, alignment vertical path 35 (FIG. 2 A discharge sensor 22 for detecting a sheet sent to the reference roller), a registration leading end sensor 23a for detecting whether or not the sheet has been fed to the registration roller pair 23, and detecting that the sheet has moved in a direction intersecting the sheet conveyance direction. The registration sensor 24 (see FIG. 5), the photo sensor 50f (see FIG. 4) for detecting the movement of the moving body 50n, the photo sensor 50i for detecting the movement of the cradle 50a and the rack 50b, and the swing unit 61 rotate upward. A swing-up detection sensor 66a (see FIG. 8) that detects movement, and detects that the swing unit 61 has rotated downward. Flat sensor 66b, inlet guide opening / closing sensor 68d for detecting the movement of the inlet guide 67, inlet sensor 68e for detecting a sheet fed to the inlet guide 67, a paper discharge sensor 75 for detecting a sheet discharged from the rotary stage 60, a cutting blade A blade position sensor 85 that detects the position 80, a communication device 207 that transmits sheet size data specified by the user to the CPU 200, and the like are electrically connected.

  On the other hand, on the output side of the CPU 200, a cover motor 37 (see FIG. 5) for moving the cover sheet P2 and a shutter motor 28 for operating the crease board 34 (see FIG. 6), swinging, are provided via drivers D1 to D10. A swing motor 62a for rotating the unit 61 (see FIG. 8), an inlet guide motor 68a for moving the inlet guide 67 (see FIG. 8), a clamping release motor 147 for releasing the gripping of the bookbinding sheet bundle by the gripper unit 70, and a gripper A horizontal movement motor 79 (see FIG. 9) for moving the unit 70, a vertical motor 88 (see FIG. 11) for raising and lowering the sheet presser 93, and a horizontal motor 83 (for moving the cutting blade 80 in a direction parallel to the surface of the sheet). 10), a mat rotation motor 95a (see FIG. 12) for rotating the mat 94, and a rotation guide gear 78 are rotated. That (see Fig. 8) rotates the motor 76, the plunger or the like (not shown) are electrically connected, respectively.

  Further, the CPU 200 includes, for example, a ROM 201 and a RAM 202 which are memories as storage units. The ROM 201 stores a cutting control procedure for each size of the bookbinding sheet bundle executed by the CPU 200. The RAM 202 is a part that temporarily stores the sheet size and the like input by the user.

  The CPU 200 controls each motor, a plunger (not shown) and the like so that cutting control and the like can be executed based on the signals when the signals of the sensors and the ROM 201 and RAM 202 are input. Yes. The CPU 200 is also configured to control the entire sheet processing apparatus B by exchanging signals with the control unit 9 in the apparatus main body A of the copying machine G.

By the way, in the present reference example , the sheet presser 93 is set in advance from the standby position to a predetermined proximity standby position closer to the pressing position than the standby position in accordance with the number and thickness of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 that is the cut sheet bundle. By moving to the optimum standby position, the interval between the standby position and the pressing position of the sheet presser 93 is narrowed, thereby shortening the time required for pressing and fixing the bookbinding sheet bundle P3, and the bookbinding sheet bundle. The processing time required for cutting P3 is shortened.

  Next, an optimal control method for the standby position of the sheet presser 93 will be described.

  First, an example of a processing procedure in one job using the standby position control in the sheet presser 93 of the trimmer unit D will be described based on a flowchart shown in FIG.

When the job is started, the CPU 200 first acquires bundle thickness information or number information of a sheet bundle to be processed (S101). In this reference example , as acquisition of sheet bundle information, sheet bundle number information is stored in the RAM 202 via the communication apparatus 207 from the apparatus main body A, and the CPU 200 starts from the RAM 202 when a job is started. Information on the number of sheet bundles is acquired.

  Next, the current position of the sheet presser 93 is detected (S102). If the sheet presser 93 has not moved to the optimum standby position, the vertical motor 88 is driven based on the acquired number information, and the sheet presser 93 is moved. Move to the optimum standby position (S103). If the position of the sheet presser 93 is indefinite, the position of the sheet presser 93 is recognized by, for example, retreating to the home position, and then moved to the optimum standby position.

  Here, calculation of the optimum standby position will be described with reference to FIG.

  When the sheet presser 93 is waiting at the home position, which is an example of the standby position, the sheet receiving width between the bottom surface serving as the sheet pressing surface of the sheet presser 93 and the mat 94 is M, the number of sheets is n, and the apparatus main body A When the sheet thickness of one thickest sheet that can be conveyed by L is L and the margin is K, the sheet presser 93 is optimally waiting at the position of nL + K when processing a sheet bundle having n sheets. This position is the optimum standby position.

  When the optimum standby position of the sheet presser 93 is calculated in this way, the CPU 200 drives the vertical motor 88 and lowers the sheet presser 93 from the home position position by M− (nL + K) in advance as shown in FIG. , Move to the optimal standby position. Here, an encoder (not shown) is attached to the vertical motor 88, and the CPU 200 can calculate the amount of movement of the sheet presser 93 from the number of clocks of the encoder.

Thereafter, the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is transferred to a position below the sheet presser 93 by the gripper unit 70 as described above and pressed by the sheet presser 93 (S104). In this reference example , L is the thickness of the thickest paper. However, a sheet thickness signal or a sheet type signal may be acquired from the apparatus main body A, and may be changed accordingly.

  Next, when the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is conveyed to the position where the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is pressed by the sheet presser 93, in other words, to the sheet cutting position, the vertical motor 88 is driven next to move to the optimum standby position shown in FIG. The sheet presser 93 is activated to press and hold the bookbinding sheet bundle P3. Then, after the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is pressed (S105), the horizontal motor 83 is driven to cut the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 with the cutting blade 80.

  After the cutting process is completed, the vertical motor 88 is driven to release the pressure contact of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 by the sheet presser 93 (S106), and the cut bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is discharged from the trimmer unit D. (S107), the job is terminated.

  Next, an example of a standby position control method for each job in the case of continuous jobs in the sheet presser 93 of the trimmer unit D will be described based on a flowchart shown in FIG.

  After the processing of one job is completed (S201), if there is no next job (N in S202), the CPU 200 retracts the sheet presser 93 and ends the processing (S203). At this time, the retracted position may be a home position that is an initial standby position, or may be arbitrarily determined and retracted to an intermediate position, for example.

  On the other hand, after processing one job as described above (S201), if it is determined that there is a next job (Y in S202), the next stored in the RAM 202 from the apparatus main body A via the communication apparatus 207 in advance. Information on the number of sheet bundles to be processed by the job is acquired (S204). Thereafter, the optimal standby position is calculated in the same manner as described above, and the sheet presser 93 is moved to the optimal standby position (S205) to prepare for the processing of the next job.

  As described above, before the pressing and fixing operation of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 by the sheet presser 93, the standby position in the sheet presser 93 is optimized based on the thickness information of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3, and the standby position and the presser position are set in advance. By controlling to narrow the interval, the time for holding the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 can be shortened, and as a result, productivity can be increased.

In this reference example , the thickness information of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is acquired by receiving the number information from the apparatus main body A via the communication device 207. However, as another method, before bookbinding, There is a method of obtaining the number information by counting the number of conveyed sheets.

  There is also a method of providing a sheet thickness detection mechanism that detects the thickness when the sheet is sandwiched by a variable resistor or a distance detection sensor (such as an optical sensor), and directly detects and acquires the thickness using this mechanism. Note that the optimum standby position for each thickness of the sheet bundle in this case is shown in FIG. 17, where the detected sheet thickness is H, the margin is K, and the sheet receiving width is M. The position is lowered by (H + K).

As described above, there are two methods for obtaining the thickness information of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3: a method of detecting and calculating the number of sheets and a method of detecting and obtaining the thickness. Either one of the detection means or both of the detection means may be acquired. Further, the position that is the optimum standby position of the sheet presser 93 of the present reference example is a position different from the home position, but the optimum standby position may be the home position.

Further, in this reference example , the standby position of the sheet presser 93 is changed according to the number of sheets to be processed. This is because when the sheet presser 93 reaches the press position, the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is clamped together with the sheet presser 93 and cut. This is because, when the blade 80 cuts the bookbinding sheet bundle P3, the mat 94 as an example of a receiving means for receiving the cutting blade 80 is fixed, and the mat 94 is fixed up and down without changing the standby position of the sheet presser 93. The same effect can be obtained by changing the standby position of the mat 94 according to the number of processed sheets. The same effect can be obtained by changing the standby positions of the sheet presser 93 and the mat 94 according to the number of processed sheets.

Further, in this reference example , the standby position in the sheet presser 93 is optimized, but the thickness of the processing sheet is also used in other mechanisms that drive in the thickness direction of the bookbinding sheet bundle such as the surface pressing unit and the gripper unit. Accordingly, the standby position can be optimized similarly.

  By the way, in the description so far, the processing time required to cut the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is shortened by moving the sheet presser 93 to the optimum standby position in advance according to the number and thickness of sheets to be cut. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the sheet bundle pressing operation of the sheet presser 93 is started at the same timing according to the thickness and number of sheets to be cut. In this case, unnecessary travel time that occurs can be eliminated and productivity can be increased.

Next, the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure of one job using the start timing control in the sheet presser 93 of the trimmer unit D, and 1 according to the present embodiment using the standby position control based on this flowchart. An example of a processing procedure in the job will be described.

  When the job is started, the CPU 200 first acquires bundle thickness information or number information of the sheet bundle to be processed (S301). In the present embodiment, as the acquisition of the sheet bundle information, the number information of the sheet bundle is stored in the RAM 202 from the apparatus main body A via the communication device 207. When the CPU 200 starts a job, the RAM 202 The sheet bundle number information is obtained from the information.

  Next, the current position of the sheet presser 93 is confirmed. If it is not in the standby position, the sheet presser 93 is moved to the designated press position, which is the designated standby position (S302). In the present embodiment, the press designated position (standby position) is the home position.

  Next, based on the acquired number information of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3, the start time of starting the sheet presser 93, which is the time from starting a certain process in the job to starting the sheet presser 93, is calculated (S303). Here, in the present embodiment, a certain processing time point is set as a time point when the trimmer unit D receives the bookbinding sheet bundle and starts processing, and a time period from this point in time until starting of the sheet presser 93 is calculated (S303). ). Note that the processing time does not necessarily have to be this time.

  Next, when the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is carried into the trimmer unit D, measurement of elapsed time is started (S304), and when the calculated activation start time has elapsed (Y in S305), the sheet pressing operation is started (S306). ). Thereafter, when the transport of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 to the cutting position is completed and the pressing process is completed, the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is cut (S307). When the cutting of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is completed, the sheet bundle pressing process by the sheet presser 93 is canceled (S308), and then the cut bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is discharged (S309). The process ends.

  Next, an example of a method for calculating the activation timing time of the sheet presser 93 in the job will be described with reference to FIGS. 19 and 20.

  19A shows a position (standby position) before the sheet presser 93 is activated, and FIG. 19B shows a sheet below the sheet presser 93 where the sheet presser 93 presses the sheet bundle. The optimum standby position of the sheet presser 93 at the time when the bookbinding sheet bundle is conveyed to the presser is shown. FIG. 20 shows, in chronological order, processing timings of conveyance, sheet pressing, and cutting in the sheet cutting apparatus when the start timing control of the sheet pressing 93 is performed and when it is not performed.

  The starting timing of the prospect of the sheet presser 93 is that the sheet presser 93 that has already been started and operated from the standby position in FIG. 19A when the transport of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 to the sheet presser is completed. The timing is such that the optimum standby position shown in FIG.

  Here, the optimum standby position shown in FIG. 19B is the sheet receiving width M between the bottom surface of the sheet presser 93 and the mat 94 when the sheet presser 93 is waiting at the home position, and the sheet bundle. If the bundle thickness is H and the margin is K, the position is H + K. This position is a position where there is no influence such as the collision of the sheet with the sheet presser 93 even during the conveyance of the sheet bundle. The bundle thickness H is calculated from the number information n of bookbinding sheet bundles received from the apparatus main body A.

  That is, according to the present embodiment, the sheet presser 93 is activated in advance during the conveyance process to the sheet presser and is lowered by M− (H + K). In other words, the activation timing is set to be during the conveyance process before the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is conveyed to the position where the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is pressed by the sheet presser 93.

  Here, the time required to move the sheet presser 93 by M− (H + K) is T2, and the time required to transport the sheet bundle to the sheet presser is S1, from the standby position (home position) to the completion of the sheet press. When the time required is T1, when the timing control of the sheet presser 93 is executed, the processing timing is as shown in FIG.

  In other words, the start timing of the sheet pressing process is not from S1 when the bundle conveyance is completed, but is S1 'during bundle conveyance that is T2 earlier (= S1-T2) than S1. Then, by starting the sheet presser 93 after the S1 ′ time has elapsed after the bundle conveyance is started in this way, the total time required to complete the cutting is T2 (= It is possible to shorten by S3-S3 ').

  Next, a method for calculating T2 will be described.

Here, if the moving speed of the sheet presser 93 in the vertical direction is V, T2 is clearly shown in FIG.
[M- (H + K)] / V
It becomes. Therefore, the start timing S1 ′ of the sheet presser 93 is
S1- [M- (H + K)] / V
It becomes.

  In other words, for the start timing control of the sheet presser 93, the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is passed from the transport alignment unit C to the rotary stage 60, and when S1 ′ has elapsed from the start of the bundle transport, the sheet presser 93 is started to start the operation. This is a control method for shortening the processing time.

  Then, by controlling the start timing of the sheet presser 93 based on the thickness information of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 in this way, the interval between the standby position and the presser position can be narrowed in advance. The time for pressing can be shortened, and as a result, productivity can be improved.

  In the present embodiment, the thickness information of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is acquired by receiving the number information from the apparatus main body A via the communication device 207. However, as another method, before bookbinding, A sheet thickness detection mechanism that counts the number of conveyed sheets and obtains sheet number information, and detects the thickness when a sheet is sandwiched with a variable resistance or a distance detection sensor (such as an optical sensor), There is also a method of directly detecting and acquiring the thickness with this mechanism.

  As described above, there are two methods for obtaining the thickness information of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3: a method of detecting and calculating the number of sheets and a method of detecting and obtaining the thickness. Either one of the detection means or both of the detection means may be acquired.

  In this embodiment, the start timing of the sheet presser 93 is changed according to the number of processed sheets. This is because the mat 94 is fixed, and the standby position of the sheet presser 93 is fixed and the mat is fixed. The same effect can be obtained by making 94 moveable up and down and changing the start timing of the mat 94 to the sheet pressing side according to the number of sheets.

  In the present embodiment, the start timing of the sheet presser 93 is optimized, but the thickness of the processing sheet is also used in other mechanisms that drive in the thickness direction of the bookbinding sheet bundle such as the surface presser unit and the gripper unit. The start timing can be optimized in the same manner according to the above.

Next, a description will be given of a second embodiment of the present invention.

  In the present embodiment, the movement (operation) speed of the sheet presser 93 is changed according to the thickness and number of sheets to be cut.

  FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure for one job using the moving speed control in the sheet presser 93 of the trimmer unit D, and 1 according to the present embodiment using the moving speed control based on this flowchart. An example of a processing procedure in the job will be described.

  When the job is started, the CPU 200 first acquires bundle thickness information or number information of a sheet bundle to be processed (S401). In the present embodiment, as the acquisition of the sheet bundle information, the number information of the sheet bundle is stored in the RAM 202 from the apparatus main body A via the communication device 207. When the CPU 200 starts a job, the RAM 202 The sheet bundle number information is obtained from the information.

  Next, the current position of the sheet presser 93 is confirmed, and if it is not at the designated standby position, the sheet presser 93 is moved to the designated press designated position (S402). In the present embodiment, the press designated position (standby position) is the home position.

  Next, the optimum moving speed V1 of the sheet presser 93 is calculated based on the acquired number information of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3. (S403). In the present embodiment, the moving speed of the sheet presser 93 is set to a two-stage speed of V1 and V2, and when the sheet presser 93 is started, it is started at the optimum moving speed V1, and it is faster than the optimum moving speed V1 on the way. Switch to the fast moving speed V2. The operating speed V2 is the speed when the motor is fully turned on regardless of the number of bookbinding sheet bundles P3.

When the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is carried into the trimmer unit D, the sheet presser 93 is moved at the calculated optimum moving speed V1 (S404). Thereafter, when the sheet presser 93 reaches the optimum standby position of the reference example described above (Y in S405), the moving speed is changed from V1 to V2 (S406), and the operation of the sheet presser 93 is continued and the actual presser is moved. Execute the process.

  Next, when this pressing process is completed, a cutting process is performed (S407), and then the pressing process of the sheet presser 93 is released (S408). Thereafter, the cut bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is discharged (S409), and the processing for one job is completed.

  Next, an example of a method for calculating the optimum moving speed V1 of the sheet presser 93 and details of the operation will be described with reference to FIGS.

  22A shows the position of the sheet presser 93 before activation, and FIG. 22B shows the optimum standby of the sheet presser 93 when the bookbinding sheet bundle has been conveyed to the sheet presser. The position is shown. FIG. 23A shows the processing timings of conveyance, sheet pressing, and cutting of the sheet cutting apparatus in time series, and FIG. 23B shows the timing of switching the speed of the sheet pressing operation. It is a thing.

  The optimum movement speed V1 of the prospective sheet presser 93 is such that the sheet presser 93 that is already in operation after being activated from the position of FIG. 22 (a) when the conveyance of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 to the sheet presser is completed. The speed reaches the optimum standby position shown in FIG.

  Here, the optimum standby position shown in FIG. 22B is that the sheet receiving width between the bottom surface of the sheet presser 93 and the mat 94 when the sheet presser 93 is waiting at the home position is M, and the sheet bundle. If the bundle thickness is H and the margin is K, the position is H + K. This position is a position where there is no influence of the sheet colliding with the sheet presser 93 even during conveyance of the sheet bundle. The bundle thickness H is calculated from the number information n of bookbinding sheet bundles received from the apparatus main body A.

  That is, according to the present embodiment, the sheet presser 93 is lowered by M− (H + K) in advance during the conveying process of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 to the sheet pressing unit, so that the start timing is being conveyed. Is possible.

  As shown in FIG. 23A, the start timing of the sheet presser 93 is a time point S1 'that is T2 before the time S1 when the conveyance process is completed. Accordingly, the optimum moving speed V1 is set so that the sheet presser 93 is moved at the time of S1 'and moved by M- (H + K) until S1 when the sheet bundle conveyance is completed (time T2). From this, when the optimum movement speed V1 is calculated, the optimum movement speed V1 is [M− (H + K)] / T2.

  Then, when the sheet presser 93 activated at the optimum moving speed V1 reaches the optimum standby position shown in FIG. 22B and completes the conveying operation at the same time, as shown in FIG. The speed (press speed) is switched to V2 and driven to the pressing position.

  The speed of the sheet presser 93 is controlled by, for example, attaching an encoder (not shown) to the vertical motor 88 of the drive source, and increasing / decreasing the ON time of the vertical motor 88 based on the number of clocks detected by the CPU 200 during motor rotation. And do it.

  In this way, before the sheet bundle pressing operation, the sheet presser 93 is moved from the standby position to the optimum standby position, and from the standby position of the sheet presser 93 to the optimal standby position based on the thickness information of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3. By controlling the moving speed, it is possible to shorten the time for pressing the bookbinding sheet bundle P3, and as a result, it is possible to increase productivity.

  In the present embodiment, the thickness information of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3 is acquired by receiving the number information from the apparatus main body A via the communication device 207. However, as another method, before bookbinding, A sheet thickness detection mechanism that counts the number of conveyed sheets and obtains sheet number information, and detects the thickness when a sheet is sandwiched with a variable resistance or a distance detection sensor (such as an optical sensor), There is also a method of directly detecting and acquiring the thickness with this mechanism.

  As described above, there are two methods for obtaining the thickness information of the bookbinding sheet bundle P3: a method of detecting and calculating the number of sheets and a method of detecting and obtaining the thickness. Either one of the detection means or both of the detection means may be acquired.

  In the present embodiment, the moving speed of the sheet presser 93 is changed according to the number of sheets to be processed. This is because the mat 94 is fixed, and the standby position of the sheet presser 93 is fixed without changing. The same effect can be obtained by making the mat 94 movable up and down and changing the moving speed of the mat 94 to the sheet pressing side according to the number of sheets.

  In the present embodiment, the operating speed of the sheet presser 93 is optimized, but the thickness of the processing sheet is also used in other mechanisms that drive in the thickness direction of the bookbinding sheet bundle such as the surface presser unit and the gripper unit. Similarly, the same effect can be obtained by optimizing the operation speed according to the above.

1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a copying machine that is an example of an image forming apparatus including a sheet processing apparatus having a sheet cutting apparatus according to a reference example of the present invention in an apparatus main body. The figure which shows schematic structure of the said sheet processing apparatus. The figure explaining the structure of the conveyance alignment unit of the said sheet processing apparatus. The side view of the buffer mechanism provided in the said conveyance alignment unit. The figure explaining the registration roller pair provided in the said buffer mechanism. The figure explaining the bookbinding process which adhere | attaches a cover sheet | seat on the glued sheet bundle in the said sheet processing apparatus. The figure which shows schematic structure of the pasting unit provided in the said sheet processing apparatus. The figure explaining operation | movement of the rotation stage of the said sheet processing apparatus. The top view of the said rotation stage. The side view of the trimmer unit provided in the said sheet processing apparatus. FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory view of sheet bundle pressing provided in the trimmer unit. The figure explaining the operation | movement which drops the cutting sheet waste of the said trimmer unit in front of a pusher by rotation of a mat, and discharges it to a dust box. FIG. 3 is a control block diagram of the sheet processing apparatus. 10 is a flowchart of standby position control for sheet bundle pressing provided in the trimmer unit. The figure which shows the optimal stand-by position of the said sheet | seat bundle presser. 10 is a flowchart of standby position control in the continuous job of sheet bundle pressing. The figure which shows the optimal stand-by position of the said sheet | seat bundle presser. 7 is a flowchart of start timing control of sheet bundle presser provided in the trimmer unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows the position of the sheet | seat bundle presser in the said starting timing control. The figure which shows the process timing at the time of the said start timing control absence / presence. 10 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for controlling the moving speed of the sheet bundle presser provided in the trimmer unit according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows the position of the pressing unit in the said moving speed control. The timing chart which shows the process of the said sheet pressing in time series.

Explanation of symbols

3 Image forming unit (image forming means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 Control part 60 Rotation stage 70 Gripper unit 72 Face pressing unit 73 Air vent unit 80 Cutting blade 81 Longitudinal moving member 82 Vertical moving member 93 Sheet pressing 93 (sheet pressing means)
200 CPU (position control means)
A Image forming apparatus main body B Sheet processing apparatus D Trimmer unit P Sheet P3 Bookbinding sheet bundle

Claims (6)

In a sheet cutting apparatus for fixing a sheet bundle to be cut and cutting the fixed sheet bundle to be cut by a cutting means,
And a standby position that does not hold the sheet bundle to be cut, and the sheet hold-down means movable between a pressing position for securing pressing the sheet bundle to be cut,
Moving means for moving the sheet pressing means;
Sheet thickness detecting means for detecting the thickness of the sheet bundle to be cut;
Control means for controlling the movement start timing of the sheet pressing means by the moving means based on the detection result of the sheet thickness detecting means;
Sheet conveying means for conveying the sheet bundle to be cut to a position where it is pressed by the sheet pressing means ,
Before SL control means, before the sheet bundle to be cut reaches the position that is pressed by the sheet pressing means by the sheet conveying means, by said moving means to move the sheet pressing means to the pressing position from the standby position The cut sheet bundle reaches a position where the cut sheet bundle is pressed, and after the sheet pressing means presses the cut sheet bundle, the moving means is stopped, and the control means is controlled by the moving means. When the sheet pressing means is moved from the standby position to the pressing position, the sheet pressing means is moved without stopping, and the control means is based on information detected by the sheet thickness detecting means. When the thickness of the cut sheet bundle is thin, the sheet pressing means by the moving means is greater than when the thickness of the cut sheet bundle is thick. Sheet cutting apparatus characterized by fast movement start timing. Said control means, said moving to move the sheet pressing the pressing position side of the predetermined proximity position location from the standby position means before reaching the position where sheet bundle to be cut is pressed Ri by said sheet holding means sheet cutting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein Rukoto to initiate movement of the sheet holding means by means. Before SL control unit, when sheet bundle to be cut is thin, it raised the moving speed of the sheet hold-down means by said moving means, when the cut sheet bundle is thick, the sheet holding means by said moving means sheet cutting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the lower the moving speed. The sheet thickness detecting means, by measuring the thickness or number of the object to be cut sheet, any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the benzalkonium detecting the thickness of the sheet bundle to be cut 1 The sheet cutting device according to item. Sheet processing apparatus comprising the sheet cutting device according to any one of 請 Motomeko 1 to 4. An image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet, the image forming apparatus characterized by comprising a sheet processing apparatus according to 請 Motomeko 5 that processes the sheet on which the image has been formed by the image forming unit.

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